


miscommunication

by brkln99



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Jake Peralta, Bisexual Male Character, F/M, M/M, soft drowsy peraltiago owns my ass, very brief mention of an ex-bf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 22:26:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14924019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brkln99/pseuds/brkln99
Summary: jake wants to tell amy something, but due to his nerves it doesn't come out sounding exactly as he plans.





	miscommunication

It’s a warmish spring night, around half eleven, and Jake and Amy are lying in bed - Amy peacefully approaching a deep slumber, and Jake looking straight up at the ceiling, wide awake.  
His gut was wriggling in a way it never had before.   
Everyone he’d ever spoken to about coming out had told him that he’d ‘just know’ when the time came and it would just feel right. Jake thought this was just one of those stupid things people tell you for courage or comfort. But lying here, eyes unblinking, absolute peace and safety within the four walls of his and his fiancee’s bedroom, he sort of understood what people meant. He takes in a deep breath, heart beginning to pump at an alarming rate.

“Ames?”

Jake receives a muffled grunt in response. He is silent, trying to find the words. He’s not sure why he’s this nervous. It’s not like Amy’s in any way unsupportive. No, she accepted Rosa, and Holt is her self-described “rabbi”. But it’s different; he’s dating her. He’s engaged to Amy. And anyway, revealing secrets is always scary. He almost kicks himself for not telling her sooner - for not telling anyone sooner. Now it’s just weird, and awkward, and suspiciously late, and while he knows she’ll still love him, he can’t help but feel scared. As if she can sense his discomfort and apprehension, Amy turns to face him, and looks at him with a slight concern.

“What’s up?”

Jake’s throat feels locked. 

“Rosa.” Jake blurts, articulately.

“Huh?”

“Me and Rosa. Rosa and me.”

Amy falls silent.  
“No. Jake, tell me you don’t mean that.” She’s deathly quiet. Jake’s heart drops ten feet.

“I don’t know what to say.” For the first time in her life, Amy doesn’t have a vocabulary. “Is this some stupid prank?”

Jake feels as though he’s been kicked in every organ at the same time.

“Jake. Tell me you’re joking. Tell me this is a dream, or a simulation, just- tell me you’re not seriously…” Amy pauses to force the words out of her mouth.

“...cheating on me?”

Jake stops.  
“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’, Jake? Say something!” Amy says, with brewing tears. Jake is incredibly confused.

And then the penny drops.

“Woah, woah woah woah woah, no! No no no no no no! NO!” Jake almost yells. “No, Ames, oh my God, no, that’s not what I meant at all. Oh, Jeez, no, who do you think I am? My dad?!”

“So you’re not cheating on me with Rosa?” Amy says weakly. Jake laughs breathily, almost crying, and envelopes her in a hug. It’s sort of uncomfortable, because they’re both horizontal, but it comforts both of them.  
“Amy Santiago, I’d be a freaking idiot to ever cheat. Especially on you. Especially with Rosa.” He grimaces. Amy breathes out quickly in relief, kisses his forehead, then stops.

“Wait, so what were you trying to say?”

“Uh… well: I don’t know how to say it without just... saying it.”  
“Uhh..? Well, start from where you're comfortable.”  
“Okay- so, Rosa.”  
“Rosa.” Amy repeats carefully, making sure not to patronize or mock him. As in-the-dark as she is, she knows her fiance and she knows that he doesn’t use his words well when he’s nervous.  
“Rosa. So, she, uh, came out, the other day, right?”  
“Yeah, she’s bisexual, right?"

“Me and Rosa. Rosa and me.” Jake repeats his quote from earlier, hoping Amy can piece it together without making him spell it out and actually say it aloud. He’s not sure if he’s ready to do this anymore. But it’s too late; he’s already said it, and Amy’s smart.

His eyes widen, as if shocked by his own words, and forgets to breathe a bit. It’s not like it’s a big deal, but it’s kind of a big deal. Actually, a massive, life-changing, this-is-the-scariest-thing-i’ve-had-to-do-and-i’m-a-damn-detective kind of size deal.

Amy smiles in a caring way, and it soothes him.  
“So that’s what you meant. You’re bi too?”  
He nods a tiny nod, but it's enough.  
“Okay.”  
Jake doesn’t think he’s ever loved her more than then. She puts a hand on his shoulder, and strokes his arm.

“That’s it?” He asks.  
“Mm-hm,” Amy hums. “We love each other, and that’s all that matters.”  
Okay, NOW Jake loves her even more. He laughs silently.  
“And here I was immediately jumping to conclusions thinking you and Rosa had some fling.”  
“It’s my fault. I phrased it weirdly.”

“I love you.”  
“I love you too.”  
"Night."

 

 

The next morning, Jake wakes up feeling refreshed. Mornings are usually the worst, but today he feels good. Genuinely, just really Good. He looks at the clock. Amy will be having breakfast right now. He gets out of bed and enters the kitchen, where he sees Amy listening to the radio and shovelling a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth.

“Hey.” Jake says, happily quiet.

“You’re up before nine? On a Sunday? Uh, who are you, and what have you done with Jake?”   
He laughs. “Just felt good today.”

Amy smiles, and Jake swears the room gets brighter. He pours himself a bowl of cereal, and sits down across the table from his fiancee.

“Can I ask you something?” He asks quickly.  
“Sure, babe.”  
“Were you surprised? When I told you that I’m, uh, bi, did it surprise you?”

Amy laughs quietly. “No.”  
“What, really? So you knew?”  
“Oh, no, I didn’t know, but I thought about it and it wasn’t hard to believe.”

Jake’s cereal gets caught in his throat.  
“What?”  
“Uh, Jake, those weird swedish detectives? Dave Majors? Hot perp alert?”  
“Okay, in fairness, everyone thought that perp was hot.”  
“Touche.”

They eat in comfortable morning silence.

“Is there anything you wanna ask me?”  
“Should there be?” Amy replies.  
“Well, no, I mean- you know, just, I’d rather you ask me anything now than just be thinking about stuff, you know? Like, I don’t want you going round thinking I’m some sort of infidel or something.”  
Amy laughs. “I’m not a bigot, Jake, just because you’re bi doesn’t mean you’re prone to adultery.”

“Technically, you already accused me of that last night.”  
“Shut up.” Amy says lovingly, grinning and rolling her eyes. “Okay, three questions.”  
“Fire away.”

“Agh, I don’t wanna be offensive, though.”  
“Ames, I know you’re not trying to offend. It’s fine. It’s good to talk about these things.”

“Alright. One - when did you realise?”  
“Uhh,” Jake begins. “I guess when I was around nineteen I realised that, like. Not everyone thought the same way as me. Like, I always thought girls and guys were attractive, and I just thought that was normal, but it didn’t really click that I was attracted to both in the same way until I was in my second year of college.”  
“Woah, pretty late.”  
“Yeah, I guess. I just never made the connection. Or I was just scared to admit it to myself. I’m not sure.”

“Okay, question two: who have you told, or who knows?”  
“Uh, well, you, Rosa, and I think Gina, although I never told her, but we grew up together and I think she pieced things together. Oh, and a couple exes.”  
“Wait, so, not your parents? Of course, you don’t have to, but-”  
“Yeah, yeah. I think my mom might have an inkling, but, no, I haven’t told them yet. It’s just scarier with family.”

“Of course. Sub-question, question 2a: Do you plan on telling them?”  
“I mean, eventually, yeah, but… I don’t know. I can never find a right time.”

“Oh! That reminds me, question 3: What made you want to tell me last night?”  
“Okay. Alright, so… I guess I was thinking about how us, and I didn’t want us to get married without you knowing this pretty big thing about me.”  
“It’s not really a big thing, is it? I mean, I don’t wanna talk for you, but it’s just that you’ve dated guys too, I’m assuming.”

“Yeah, I. Uh, I have.” Jake goes a little red at this. “But it was also, like. Sort of inspiring to see Rosa come out, so I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Like, if she could do it, so could I, right? Oh, and also… it just felt like the right moment. I don’t know. It’s dumb, but I just finally feel comfortable enough for people to know.”  
“That’s lovely.”

Jake feels a little weird being so vulnerable, but it’s sort of nice.  
“Love you.”  
Amy kisses his forehead and stands up to wash her bowl.

“So who was your first boyfriend?” Amy says in a sing-song tone with a playful grin, mocking the typical hormonal teen girl. Jake laughs.   
“Jared Gallagher, in college. We only went out for a few months, but there’s no hard feelings.”  
“Hey, wait, bagel Jared?”  
“Huh?”  
“Is this Jared the same Jared that we get discounted bagels from, on 4th?”  
“Oh, yeah, bagel Jared.” Jake grins.  
“Cool, cool cool cool. So how come you ended things?” 

“Well, we realised we were both just dating each other because we both wanted to experiment, not because we actually had feelings for each other. So we talked about it and decided it would be totally cool to just remain friends.”  
“Wow, that’s very mature for college Jake.” Amy smiles.

“Yeah, I was super chill and mellow. I just went with it, untethered, and I totally didn’t squat on it and binge tubs of ice cream for a few weeks afterwards.”   
They laugh at Jake’s anecdote, and the conversation reaches a natural pause. 

“I’m proud of you. I don’t know if I’ve made it clear enough, but I am so unbelievably proud of you, Jake.”  
Jake smiles, and kisses her, softly, before moving away to wash up.  
“I’m so lucky.”


End file.
